1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fruit and vegetable peeler which is suitably used in general homes, etc. for peeling skins of various fruits and vegetables having nearly spherical shapes, such as citrus fruits including grapefruits, oranges and Chinese citrons, with safety and ease in operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of fruit and vegetable peeling machines have hitherto been proposed for peeling skins of not only citrus fruits, but also other various fruits and vegetables in a large amount.
One example of those fruit and vegetable peeling machines is disclosed in Patent Reference 1; Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 63-065306. More specifically, one piece of fruits and vegetables (referred to as a “fruit/vegetable” hereinafter) is held at its both ends between clamp members and is rotated by a motor. A cup-shaped rotating blade is rotatably held by a support arm around the fruit/vegetable and is rotated at a high speed by another motor. Further, the rotating blade is movable along the surface of the fruit/vegetable by the support arm while maintaining a relative positional relationship such that the axis of rotation of the rotating blade is parallel to a tangential line to the locus along which the surface of fruit/vegetable rotates, and the rotating blade is brought into contact with the surface of the fruit/vegetable from the outer side so as to cut into the fruit/vegetable.
That type of motor-driven fruit and vegetable peeling machine is designed on the premise that a user peels skins of fruits and vegetables in a large amount. Therefore, that type of motor-driven fruit and vegetable peeling machine is usually utilized in fruit and vegetable processing industries, food dispensing business such as hotels, and by distributors selling peeled fruits and vegetables, while it is not suitable for use in general homes. In practice, to improve workability, the fruit/vegetable and the rotating blade are rotated by a single motor or individually driven motors, and the rotating blade is moved manually or by a motor along the fruit/vegetable surface. Therefore, when such a motor-driven fruit and vegetable peeling machine is used to peel skins of fruits and vegetables in a small amount, peeling work can be finished in a very short time, whereas a lot of time and labor are required to wash and dry the peeling machine for storage after the use. In other words, a small amount of the fruit/vegetable can be manually peeled in a shorter time with more convenience for the user. In addition, because the motor-driven peeling machine is heavy and bulky, it is also troublesome to secure a storage space and to carry the machine to the storage space.